I can't believe I'm back on this site due to Stardew mods. Main interests: lore, theories and headcanons about Stardew Valley and it's mods. Current obsessions: Mr. Qi and Lance from SVE.
(Technically the image is from a picrew, but it got deleted at some point ¯\_(ツ)_/¯)
Basics:
late 20's - early 30's
really tall and slender
vary pale, to the point where he looks unhealthy and corpse-like
soft wavy hair that won't sit in any way no matter how much he tries
pitch black hair and eyes (eyes so dark you can't distinguish the pupil from the iris)
as he'll start controlling his magic better his hair will start to turn purple from the tips up and his eyes will start getting purple flecks until they completely change colours (but that will be decades after moving to the valley)
Detailed backstory:
Thad moved in the valley after causing massive chaos both at Joja and the Ministry. (Not his fault, he did exactly what he was told to do.) Not that the townspeople know that, or anything about him, really. He lives alone deep in the woods and visits the town rarely. Despite that they consider him a helpful and cheerful neighbour. He's a good listener but will carefully avoid saying anything about himself. He also pays really close attention to everything that goes around him, has a really good memory and will dig through everyone's personal objects, but most people haven't figured out that yet. (Old habits die hard.) He's very curious and always down to try or learn new things.
Had a mutually beneficial deal with the Ministry while working at Joja - they help him get out of there while he helps them investigate if Joja is illegally messing with magic. (Of course they were.) An agreement everyone at the Ministry ended up regretting after it was revealed that multiple mages from the Ministry were secretly helping Joja. Part of the reason the situation in the Badlands got out of control this horribly was because everyone at the Ministry was busy with the fallout of the newly discovered corruption within their ranks. They also regretted getting Thad out in general, since they're pretty sure he's not even human any longer, but Thad considers it payback for forcing him to work at Joja in the first place.
He and Magnus already know each other since it was Magnus who 'hired' him to help with the Ministry's investigation. (Magnus is also now responsible with keeping Thad from messing with magic too, but everyone already know that's not going to happen in a depressed acceptance kind of way.) Every mage and adventurer knows about him and about the whole mess, and a few blame him directly for all the paperwork and investigations they had to go through.
His presence in the Valley causes weird things to happen due to his contradictory and unstable magic - life/forest and void/death. (Qi and Grandpa are to blame for the odd combination.) He has trouble using his magic because of it. Ever since he moved to Pelican Town dark magic is starting to get stronger, monster are more agressive and more likely to breed and leave the mines, and dark creatures almost unheard of before have been spotted in the woods. But nature and forest magic are also getting stronger - plants grow faster and healthier, rare or nearly extinct animals are starting to thrive, pollution is disappearing or at least affecting the environement less, and magical creatures that were droved away by humans and especially by Joja are tentatively moving back into the Valley, like junimos and fairies. (This means lots of interesting research opportunities but also lots of extra worry for the already overworked Ministry/Order members.)
Like his magic, Thad has a very contradictory and changing personality, but keeps most of it hidden (despite seemingly having no filter). He doesn't trust people and never opens up. He's generally mocking and sarcastic in a playful way, doesn't take anything seriously and always wastes his time instead of working. Very smug and annoying, will start fights by saying things people don't want or need to hear. Doesn't apologize or regrets what he's done no matter how bad the situation gets, he'll always choose to double down instead of backing off. But he can also be surprisingly calm and obedient. His personality changes fast, sometimes within minutes, and makes predicting his reactions hard. Which is a problem since he has violent tendencies, especially when his dark magic is stronger than the forest one. Gets along weirdly well with Lance, who's often called to calm him down or get him out of some place.
He has lots of animalstic and inhuman traits or behaviours, like making weird noises, especially when talking with other supernatural beings, smelling magic more than feeling it, and his eyes sometimes glow in the dark like a cat's. Also lots of horror-like traits, like his face sometimes looking wrong when someone is watching him from the corner of their eyes or looking at his reflection, but normal when they look directly at him. (He's not aware that this happens and doesn't understand why people suddenly react weird to him when he's not doing anything.) He died while working at Joja and his body sometimes forgets he's alive again, so randomly he'll stop breathing or won't have a pulse. (He's not aware of that either and doesn't feel it, his magic just takes over until his organs start working again.)
His farm and house are full of void creatures, spirits, junimos and other weird beings, most invisible even to other magic users. They feed off his magic and help him with his chores in exchange. Really doesn't get along with Isaac (or most adventurers/mages really). Has been banned multiple times from Castle Village already. (But they have to let him back because he's the only one who can safely fight in the Badlands. He's very annoying and smug every time they call him back, and generally gets banned immediately after he's done with cleaning the Badlands.)
The relationship between humans and gods in Strange Horticulture/Antiquities is genuinely weird. Despite being treated as frightening and powerful beings the gods they seem to have lost humanity's respect a long time ago and have been pushed aside. There's an entire category of gods who had their names and language erased for apparently not answering prayers enough.
Gods are an actual active presence in both games, as in they answer prayers and there are magical artifacts that draw power directly from them, yet pretty much the only people who actually worship them are cultists. You'd expect people to care more about religion when the land is littered with ritual spots and various signs that gods did something for someone for whatever reason and yet most people you encounter couldn't care less about them even when they specifically seek you out for some magical request.
There are like only one or two people each game that mention gods without being weird about it. The rest, at best, do fucked up rituals or ceremonies, like scarring their own face as a sign of devotion. At worst, they're trying to kill everyone because they worship some homicidal asshole. And no one respects these worshippers either, they're actively viewed as weird and dangerous despite, again, being able to prove that they are indeed communicating with a god, or at least some powerful being.
And another interesting thing is that no important character that actually works with magic cares about the gods at all. You'd really expect the people who deal with dangerous beings and curses to at least seek protection or advice from some god. But they seem to be even less likely to interact with the gods than the already apathetic general population.
The only exception is Barton, who got cursed by the gods, got a message from them and tried to actually follow their orders, but even then he just wanted to safely get rid of the Casket rather than please them specifically. He didn't care about their message at all until the Apprentice tells him to go decipher it. He also isn't scared of retribution from said gods if the Casket gets destroyed instead of handed over to them, despite them being potentially angry that they lost the power contained in it and might blame him specifically for not bringing it to them.
It's pretty funny if you think about it. The pool of worshippers gods get is actually quite sad. The experts in magic and the occult, who could actually be useful servants, are completely dismissive of them, with only people who know little of the esoteric seeking them out, and even among those it's mostly the unhinged ones with something to prove. Not exactly quality help. I mean, The Sisterhood nearly got wiped off because they just couldn't talk like normal people with Verona, who actually knows a lot about the occult and wasn't just some clueless 'civilian', and only survived because one of them had enough common sense to basically betray them to get help. And Holgar might want to punish humanity, but his own followers are more busy ripping each other to shreds in the wilderness than actually helping him fulfil his revenge. In fact these maniacs are utterly useless and can only open the Casket if the Apprentice fucking drags it over to them. They aren't even trying to look for it, leaving an inanimate magical object to do all the work and possess like half the town for a chance to open itself. I'm sure Holgar is very proud of them all.
Actually could it be Holgar in that casket? He's apparently this powerful scary god that defeated whole eldritch abominations and salivates at the thought of killing a large number of non-worshippers and yet he is utterly absent from the plot despite the Casket being his grand plan to fulfill this, with a detailed prophecy and manifesto and all that. And he will only take his revenge after the Casket will be opened all while there's been a suspicious lack non-worshipper killings in the recent past. So is it actually possible that he's sealed in there? Or some part of him, or his power, or something.
That might explain why the other gods are so desperate to get a hold of the Casket (but won't open it since that would free him) and why the game mentions that they're scared of the Apprentice if he opens it (and becomes Holgar's vessel). If that's true then it's probably his own chaotically backstabby followers who somehow got him trapped in there, whether they were aware of it or not. Plus, it's specified that this is an one of a kind Object, unlike most of the artifacts you usually work with.
Mushrooms are an important thing in Castle Village; without them, life would be very difficult for the magical community. It serve as ingredient for important potions, a common part of the diet for adventurers and ordinary residents alike (especially when the harvest has been poor this season), a deadly weapon against enemies, and even home and other structures... if a wizard is skilled and powerful enough to create them. That’s why every mushroom has its purpose, why anyone who knows how to grow mushrooms for the village’s benefit earns the respect of the community’s residents. So, upon hearing about that very mysterious hero from the Stardew Valley — the place many call “paradise on earth” — who had begun supplying a whole heap of mushrooms for the village’s needs, and about the wondrous mushroom garden so tall they block out the sky, all the ordinary people, mages, and adventurers began discussing that hero with even greater fervor.
Meanwhile Farmer, who had bought a mushroom seed from Mr. Qi simply because they didn't know what else to do with Qi gems, planted the seed on their farm and left it to the whims of chance. A season later, they ended up with a massive mushroom forest — one that even talented witches and wizards, given conditions as favorable as those in Stardew Valley, would have taken years to achieve. Because why not, lmao.
The Farmer enters the outpost one day with a huge bag of mushrooms looking annoyed and begging adventurers to just take them all. "Just give me 5 gold or something. It rained in the Valley a few days ago and this things are everywhere now! I have more bags at home if you still want some."
There's a deep silence in the tower and the Farmer looks irritated at the adventurers around them. They all stopped whatever they were doing and were now staring at the bag of mushrooms spilling on the table. Lance approached the bag and was now staring at a large mushroom he picked from the pile. "Come on, you could at least make some stew out them or something. They're edible, I fried some yesterday and nothing happened. I just can't eat them all before they go bad and I already filled all my driers."
"You ate them?!" Hissed Isaac annoyed.
"Yes? What am I supposed to do with six wheelbarrows worth of mushrooms?" At that Isaac made an exasperated gesture with his hands and stormed out of the tower.
Lance chuckled at that. "You won't have problems finding a buyer for these type of mushrooms at any time in Castle Village but I would suggest you to be more careful about the price you ask for them. They are very rare."
Alesia, who didn't pried her eyes from the mushrooms until now stared the Farmer in the eyes. "They are nearly impossible to find, let alone in such quantities. It's a miracle if we can find enough to fill a basket in an entire year. How did you gathered this many?"
"I found a small yellowish mushroom growing on a rotting log in a swamp and brought it on my farm." Lets not mention that it was around the hut of Magnus's former wife. Or that it was the Goblin who told them it was a magical mushroom. "I recently refurbished my mushroom cave and wanted to see how mushrooms now grow in it. Then they somehow spread all over my farm apparently."
"And you just picked a random mushroom to test this and it just happened to be an extremely rare magical one at that?" Alesia went back to staring at the overflowing bag with distrust.
"Uhhhhh... yes? This isn't even the weirdest mushroom I tasted without knowing if it's poisonous." Lance just laughed at that.
This might feel a little more shocking if I could remember how I got this thing's attention in the first place. I just know it chased me a whole night through a dream city. But I think I wasn't very clear on why I was haunted by a nightmare wolf at the time either.
But still, why is the Empress's dog trying to eat me in my sleep?
Probably Lance, if he can just teleport around and hit Isaac from a distance. No monsters just spam teleports all over the place so I don't think Isaac has a strategy ready for this.
But if they have a duel or something that forces them both to fight on equal terms, like only using swords in a small area, then Isaac wins since he's more used to physically fighting things. Lance is probably relies too much on magic to match a warrior that relies on a sword for survival.
Alternatively the Farmer breaks the fight by just smacking both around until they stop.
Sometimes you just feel like opening Dredge and leaving it in the background
The sound of splashing water mixed with the occasional deep growl is a great background noise. If I listen to it for long enough even noises from outside like passing motorbikes seem ominous before I can tell what I'm actually hearing.
( hi everyone! it's that time of year again... expect me back sometime in august! in the meantime, consider donating to direct relief for earthquake recovery in venezuala! )
This is the perfect weather to eat an obscene amount of salted sunflower seeds. They have other minerals aside from just the salt you suck from their peel too 😋
I like that during the entire plot of Strange Antiquities you're basically hiding in the shop waiting for Eli to come back and sort that mess up.
"Eli, you're back! Things are getting worse! Do you have any plans yet? No? Ok, I'll stay here and sell some more stuff then. Good luck with saving the town!"
Then you basically follow his plans at the end and if you listen to him things turn up all right.
And grinded out 600 documents just to see what happens if I dump them all on Hell's lap. The only reliable option I had was the one that gives 5 documents at a time. There are probably better things I could've done with my time and it would've definitely been wiser to do this at a later time with higher watchful but I wanted to know *now*.
It was a good decision, I found some really nice hints!
So the rose faction of Hell is the monarchic one and the one who ruled Old Hell, right? And current Hell formed after a revolution and it currently has its own even more revolutionary factions, yeah? During the Fourth City's time Hell was still ruled by the monarchy, and since tales about London's war with Hell mention burning fields of roses it means that Hell's monarchy ruled past London's descend for a while, right?
But then again, The Blind Pianist said that they should have killed that grand devil while the Fourth City was still around, implying that the revolution happened before London. So then what's with the burning roses? It doesn't seem like current Hell likes roses very much so I assume they wouldn't keep whole fields of them just to remember Old Hell. Did those fields belong to the Fourth City and were just surrounding London at the time, and them burning were because Hell attacked back?
And what's with Old Hell's spider faction? They seem to be closely related to the rose one, since webs and roses are constantly together in the Sunken Embassy. Are they just different symbols representing/working for the monarchy? And lastly about Hell, Coppers were mentioned alongside the rose faction in either in the Sunken Embassy or in the Fourth City, can't remember which, are they the faction that will become current Hell?
Moving on, I got an Oneiromantic Revelation in exchange for my hard earned more than half a thousand pages of bureaucratic marvels, and it's by far the most lore dense item I have in my possession. Actually, its description is one of the most lore heavy text I encountered so far.
So, there are alternate realities in Fallen London. Alternate realities that aren't that separated from each other on top of that. And there's the hint that truth and lies kinda influence reality. (And this is what causes alternate realities to happen maybe?) So, I guess things will get much complicated later in the story. Is this why London's streets change from time to time?
I finished both Strange Horticulture and Strange Antiquities
They were fun games, and the repetitive tasks and calm atmosphere were very relaxing. They really make you feel like you're in one of those 'empty library during rain - 2 hours rain ambience' while actually studying. Antiquities was noticeably harder though, but the art and story were better.
Funny enough, I got the golden ending on both games jut because I didn't had, or couldn't identify the wrong objects 😁
I was hoping I'll find some more eyeless skulls honestly. For whatever this is:
But I couldn't find any so I dared to go on an expedition. It was actually surprisingly stressful, since I had to manage my resources, my failing rates and my rival. But I pulled it through eventually!
Thanks! I could've avoided it frankly, but I was curious about what death does.
I don't know if I want to die? I was afraid that dying for real will lock me out of my account, at least temporarily. Apparently that's not true, so maybe I should see what that option does? Anyway, I discarded the card and I'm back among the living for now but maybe I'll try to see what that card does at another time, if only to check that option out. Depending on what I am doing at the time of my death.
Some monster food recipes for our DIABOLICALLY gluttonous farmer's cookbook, she uses it partially to keep track of her recipe and partially as a journal of some sort.
Frieda: "If the fishes won't bite any time soon, I'm gonna eat those bug meat myself."
Good to know, I was worried it will make me take a day long break or something similar because I'm technically dead now. I should try it sometimes, just to see what it does.
